English driver Stuart Wiltshire is becoming a member of Period Motorsport for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Problem at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park subsequent weekend when LMP2 turns into the headlining class, as effectively for the remaining 2024 dash race at Highway America in August. Dwight Merriman, who’s pushed the automotive for the previous a number of years and the primary three races of the season, is stepping apart to pursue different racing pursuits.
Wiltshire has expertise in Components 3, and lately began racing prototypes within the rising “fashionable historic” racing world, together with LMP2 prototypes, a Peugeot 90X LMP1 automotive and, most lately, an Acura ARX-05 Daytona Prototype worldwide automotive run out of the Period Motorsport US workshop. Wiltshire gained expertise within the IMSA-spec Period Motorsport Oreca 07 LMP2 final 12 months on the Historic Sportscar Racing Daytona Basic the place he raced alongside Merriman, and examined the No. 18 ORECA at CTMP final week.
“After getting a number of years of expertise driving prototypes, I’ve gotten fairly snug behind the wheel, and I can’t wait to see how issues stack up as soon as we get on monitor for FP1,” Wiltshire stated. “After the check, I really feel nice within the automotive, and I’m assured with the tempo I’ve. The most important distinction for me would be the longer stints in IMSA versus the 45-minute drive occasions I’m used to in historic racing.”
Sharing the automotive with Wiltshire shall be Ryan Dalziel, the workforce’s skilled driver since 2021.
Merriman, Dalziel and Connor Zilisch, with Christian Rasmussen becoming a member of at Daytona, took victory within the Rolex 24 at Daytona and the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring to open the season. Contact for Merriman within the first lap of the Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen, nevertheless, scuttled hopes for a repeat efficiency and dropped Period out of the championship lead in LMP2.
With Merriman stepping apart, the workforce has a Bronze-rated driver opening for the 2025 IMSA season, and with a fleet of ORECA 07 LMP2 equipment the workforce is able to re-entering the Asian or European Le Mans Sequence as effectively.
“We’re tremendous excited to be opening up the workforce to extra drivers and extra alternatives,” stated workforce proprietor Kyle Tilley. “Our present Bronze, Dwight Merriman, is trying to increase his racing portfolio into a brand new challenge which we shall be asserting later this 12 months, in order that opens up the unimaginable workforce we’ve developed over the previous 5 years to new drivers who is likely to be desirous about entering into the world {of professional} racing, or transferring into a brand new class.”
events can contact workforce proprietor Tilley at kyle@eramotorsport.com.
